Spectrally sensitizing is an extremely important and necessary technique in producing light-sensitive materials having high sensitivity and excellent color reproducibility. Spectrally sensitizing dyes function to absorb light rays of a longer wavelength region which silver halide photographic emulsions essentially do not substantially absorb and to transmit the absorbed light energy to the silver halide. Therefore, an increase in the amount of light captured with the aid of a spectrally sensitizing dye is advantageous for enhancing photographic sensitivity. Thus, attempts have been made to raise the amounts of spectrally sensitizing dyes added to silver halide emulsions for increasing the amount of captured light. However, addition of spectrally sensitizing agents to silver halide emulsions in amounts more than the optimal amount rather causes a serious desensitization. This is generally called "dye desensitization" which is the phenomenon that desensitization takes place in the light-sensitive region intrinsic to silver halide in which sensitizing dyes do not substantially show light absorption. A large dye desensitization reduces total sensitivity though some spectrally sensitizing effect is obtained. In other words, sensitivity in the light absorption region (e.g., spectrally sensitized sensitivity) due to the sensitizing dye increases in proportion to the degree of decrease in dye desensitization. Therefore, an important aspect of the spectrally sensitizing technique is decreasing the dye desensitization. In addition, sensitizing dyes whose light-sensitive region is in a longer wavelength region generally cause more dye desensitization. These are described in C. E. K. Mees, The Theory of the Photographic Process, pp. 1067 to 1069 (published by McMillan Publishing Co. in 1942).
As techniques for enhancing sensitivity by decreasing dye desensitization, there are known those which are described in Japanese patent application (OPI) Nos. 28916/72, 46738/74, 118236/79 (the term "OPI" as used herein means an "unexamined published application") and U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,083. However, these techniques are still unsatisfactory in that usable sensitizing dyes are limited or in that only insufficient effects are obtained. As the currently most effective techniques for decreasing dye desensitization, there are known those techniques of using bisaminostilbene compounds substituted by pyrimidine derivatives or triazine derivatives in combination which are described in Japanese patent Publication No. 22189/70, Japanese patent application (OPI) Nos. 18726/79, 4822/77, 151026/77, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,762. However, the above-described compounds are usually effective for those limited dyes which are of so-called M-band-sensitizing type showing a gently sloping sensitization maximum such as dicarbocyanines, tricarbocyanines, rhodacyanines, and merocyanines and which show a sensitization maximum in a comparatively long wavelength region.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,888 discloses that sensitization in the infrared region can be attained by the combination of a specific tricarbocyanine and ascorbic acid, British Pat. No. 1,255,084 discloses that the combined use of a specific complex merocyanine dye and ascorbic acid serves to enchance minus blue sensitivity, British Pat. No. 1,064,193 discloses that the combined use of a specific complex cyanine and ascorbic acid provides an increased sensitivity, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,561 discloses the combined use of a desensitizing nucleus-containing cyanine dye and a super-sensitizing dye such as ascorbic acid.
Alkali metal sulfites and ascorbic acid have conventionally been used in silver halide photographic emulsions for various purposes. For example, Japanese patent application (OPI) No. 6024/76 describes the effect of preventing deterioration of color-forming ability of couplers by using the above-described compounds in combination with diffusion-resistant color fog-preventing agents. However, ascorbic acid and the like have been found to cause the sensitizing dyes to be insufficient.